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MND NewsWire features plain and simple interpretations of industry related data and events written in a manner that maintains the interest of random readers while still catering to the perspective of a housing market professional.

The growth in home prices nationally
accelerated in the second quarter. The
S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions
rose 7.1 percent
during the quarter compared to an increase of 10.1 percent over the last four
quarters. Both the 10-City Composite
Index and the 12-City were up 2.2 percent in June compared to May and the
10-City posted a return of 11.9 percent for the 12 month period ending in June;
the 20-City rose 12.1 percent.

Home price appreciation, however, may be slowing in some
quarters. While all 20 cities posted
gains on a monthly and annual basis the month-over-month June price hike was
larger in only six cities compared to ten in May.

"National
home prices rose more than 10% annually in each of the last two quarters," David M. Blitzer,
Chairman of the Index Committee
at S&P Dow Jones Indices
said. "However, the monthly city by city data
show the pace of
price increases is moderating.

"The Southwest and California have consistently led the recovery,"
Blizer said, "with Las Vegas,
Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco
posting at least 15 months of gains. Looking
at the cities,
New York recorded its highest monthly return since 2002. Atlanta was up the most at +3.4% and Washington DC had the lowest return at +1.0%. In terms of annual
rates of change,
San Francisco lost its leadership position
with Las Vegas showing
the highest post-recession
gain of 24.9%.

"Thirteen out of twenty cities saw their returns weaken from May to June.
As we are in the middle of a seasonal buying period, we
should expect to see the most gains. With interest
rates rising to almost 4.6%,
home buyers may be
discouraged and sharp increases
may
be dampened," Blizer said.

Other
housing news, while positive, is less so than a year ago, he pointed out. Housing starts and new home sales are running
behind the stronger pace of existing home sales but despite the recent
increases in interest rates homes remain affordable and credit requirements
have eased somewhat.

The National Home Price Index, which is
released quarterly, shows that home prices across the country are, on average,
back to early 2004 levels. The 10-City
and 20-City Composite indices are also back to spring 2004 price levels and the
peak to current decline is approximately 23 percent. The two indices peaked in June and July of
2006 and since hitting their troughs in March 2012 have recovered 18.4 percent
and 29.0 percent respectively.

While all 20 cities covered by the indices have shown price increases
for at least three consecutive months the only ones to see their prices climb
more quickly in June than in May were Charlotte, Cleveland, Las Vegas,
Minneapolis, New York, and Tampa. Atlanta had the largest monthly price increase,
3.4 percent, the same increase as in May.
San Francisco dropped to +2.7% in June from +4.3% in May. Dallas and Denver reached
new all-time highs for the second time in as many months with
returns of +1.7% each in June. San Francisco's rebound is the largest,
up 47.0% from its low in March 2009. Phoenix is second, 37.1% above its September
2011 low.

Year-over-year,
Las Vegas and San Francisco were the only two cities to
post gains of over 20%. Gains
in Atlanta, Detroit and Phoenix slipped
to +19.0%, +16.4% and +19.8%, respectively. Seven cities - Dallas,
Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Diego and Tampa - showed improvement in their annual rates.
Out of the 13 remaining metropolitan areas, Detroit
showed the most deceleration but it still posted an impressive 16.4% increase. Despite gaining 35.6%
from its post-recession low in April 2011, Detroit remains the only city below its
January 2000 level.

Comments

It's not surprising that home price increases in the 2nd quarter slowed with the rise in mortgage rates which we have continued to affect the upward pace S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index.
With mortgage rates starting to go back up again after a slight dip the end of last year, I actually wouldn't be surprised seeing home prices fall in some markets as housing affordability is negatively affected.

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